The New Sinister Six
by petersnightmare
Summary: Spiderman is confronted by the Kingpin's new Sinister Six. Kingpin plans to destroy Spiderman once and for all!
1. Dress Rehearsal

The New Sinister Six

by petersnightmare

Peter woke up around 8 AM and rolled out of bed. The night before, he had a particularly exhausting battle with his old enemy Electro. He was able to defeat Electro, but his costume was torn in several places during the battle and he was going to have to spend his Saturday morning sewing his Spiderman suit back into its original state.

"May as well turn on the TV," he thought.

"...as reported earlier this morning," the voice of the reporter said, "the costumes of some of New York's most powerful super-villains were stolen last night."

"Wha-," Peter asked aloud.

The reporter continued, " The costumes of the Beetle, the Shocker, the Scorpion, the Vulture, Blizzard, and the Eel were stolen from the federal prison known as The Vault."

"Oh great," Peter thought, "a bunch of idiots in super-suits trying to be super-villains. Why is more comforting when Abner Jenkins, Herman Schultz, Mac Gargan, Adrian Toomes, whoever Blizzard used to be, and whoever the Eel was last week are wearing those suits?"

"This is clearly a plot by Spiderman to have more of his dangerous fights in our city streets!"

Peter laughed as JJJ grabbed the mic from the reporter. He was watching J3 communications after all.

"This is one more reason that masked freak should be captured and unmasked!" Jonah yelled. "That lunatic is setting the whole city up for property damage and a crime wave like we've never seen!"

"You tell 'em, Jonah," Peter laughed, "it's all my fault as usual!"

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Later that afternoon in the secret headquarters of the Kingpin, six men gathered before their boss.

"You are my finest guards," Kingpin told them, "and I have decided to reward your service with these..."

A wall swung around and the six men saw six costumes hanging on it.

"Pick your costumes, gentlemen," Kingpin told them. "These are your rewards. I have decided to reactivate my Sinister Six. Each of you will become a super-powered criminal with only one goal: to capture Spiderman!"

The six men each picked out a costume.

"By all means, gentlemen, try them on," Kingpin told them.

Each man stripped to his underwear and put on his respective costume.

"And now, Beetle, Shocker, Scorpion, Vulture, Blizzard, and Eel, go get Spiderman for me," Kingpin ordered. "You are my new Sinister Six!"

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"It feels good to be web-swinging," Spiderman thought. He swung from building to building looking for any sign of whoever stole the six costumes. There was no trace of any of them. Earlier, he had stopped a mugging and a car-jacking, but no super-villains were to be found. It was getting late, close to midnight, and it seemed like it was going to be a slow night.

The previous night had seen him battle Electro in what proved to be a hard-fought victory. Electro was more vicious than ever. Electro had figured out new ways to use his powers and nearly defeated Spiderman. Using available metal objects, Electro was able assault Spiderman and bring the hero to near-unconsciousness. Only after he finally was able to render Electro unconscious did Spiderman realize that his costume was torn in several places and he was cut underneath it. Worst of all, his mask was torn so badly that it barely hid the features of his face. As the police approached, Spiderman decided to leave the scene for fear of the police officers recognizing his face.

A slow night was definitely a welcome change from battling an electrically powered super-villain. As Spiderman swung toward the Empire State Building his spider-sense went off. A laser blast barely missed him and instead sheared his webline. He was able to fire another webline and catch himself only to dodge a blast at the last second. On the ground below he saw four men in familiar costumes.

"Here we go," he thought as he gazed upon Shocker, Blizzard, the Eel, and Scorpion.

His spider-sense fired again. But what was it warning him of? The four costumed men were well below the range of their weapons to hit him.

"Do it," the Vulture shouted to the Beetle. The beetle fired his electro-bite and nailed Spiderman in the abdomen. Spiderman fell from his perch. The Vulture swooped down and caught Spiderman in midair.

"I see you upgraded the suit with a mask, uhh, Vulture," Spiderman quipped as he noticed the green spandex mask covering this new Vulture's face. "Did you realize that catching me was a mistake?"

Spiderman reached around to the Vulture's back and ripped the power pack off of the bird-like costume and tossed it to the ground below.

"No," Vulture cried as they began to fall from the sky. Luckily, they were only a couple of stories up at this point.

Spiderman landed safely and Beetle caught the Vulture just in time. Spiderman's spider-sense was going crazy as he dodged Shocker's vibro-blasts, Eel's electrical blasts, Scorpion's laser blasts, and Blizzard's ice blasts.

"You guys are serious aren't you," Spiderman asked as he tackled Shocker. "I mean you know you don't really have any powers, right," he said as he ripped Shocker's gauntlets off.

"Hey! No," Shocker yelled as Spiderman crushed the gauntlets.

The others tried to stop Spiderman, but they were too inexperienced to do much of anything. Next, Spiderman webbed Scorpion. "You may have his costume, but you don't have his super-strength," Spiderman said to the entangled Scorpion.

"I got him," Blizzard announced and fired his ice blast at Spiderman. The blast missed and Spiderman leapt onto Blizzard's back and tore the cold unit off.

"No, you don't got him," Spiderman laughed.

"My suit is ruined," Blizzard cried as he was webbed up.

"Fools! He's easy pickings for the Beetle," Beetle said and nailed Spiderman with his electro-bite. Beetle continued to hammer Spiderman with blasts. The Eel joined in and fired his electric blast at the fallen hero. After a few seconds they both stopped. Spiderman lay motionless on the ground before them.

"Free Blizzard and Scorpion," Eel said to Beetle, "I'm gonna take his mask off!" The Eel bent down and grabbed Spiderman's mask and started to pull it off.

"Now, why would I let you do that," Spiderman asked Eel.

Spiderman tore a hole in the chest of the costume Eel wore. The costume began to spark violently.

"My suit...gotta get it off," Eel said. He hurriedly removed the electrified costume and was soon left in the boxer shorts he wore beneath the costume. With his suit ruined and his face revealed, he ran away as fast as he could.

"You guys are amateurs," Spiderman said as he approached the other men.

"Really," a voice came from above Spiderman. His spider-sense screamed at him. The Beetle landed on Spiderman's back and gripped Spiderman's mask. "You won't dare follow us without this!"

"No," Spiderman said as he felt his mask being pulled off. In a flash, his mask was off and he was shielding his face.

The costumed criminals got away, and, for the second night in a row, Spiderman was forced to flee to protect his secret identity.

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"Though you failed me thus far, I will allow you to continue as my Sinister Six," Kingpin told the six men gathered before him. "The cost to replace the costumes of Shocker, Eel, Vulture, and Blizzard will come out of your pay! I will, however, trust that you have each learned a lesson. Without those costumes you are ordinary men. With them, working as a team, you will be a force to be reckoned with. You must learn to function as a team."

"Look, Kingpin," the man who was given the costume of the Eel said, still wearing only his boxer shorts, "I promise this won't happen again."

"Yeah, same here," Blizzard said.

"Don't make promises you may not be able to keep," Kingpin said. "I am pleased that you were able to bring me this," Kingpin said as he held up Spiderman's mask. "You see, we have a valuable piece of Spiderman in this mask."

"What do you man, boss," Beetle asked.

"Well, Beetle, we have a hair sample from Spiderman," Kingpin said, "and I intend to use it for a very special purpose."

"You see, gentlemen," Allister Smythe said as he entered into the room in his hover-chair, "I plan to find a way to remove Spiderman's powers!"

"Without his powers, Spiderman will be easily defeated," Kingpin said. "Once he is rendered powerless, you will bring him to me so that I can unmask him myself! I will revel at the face beneath his mask as he realizes that he has finally, truly lost!"

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"Oh my God," Peter said as he sat in his apartment, "I got unmasked by the Beetle! Not even the real Beetle! Some guy in the Beetle's suit!"

It was late and Peter decided to go to sleep. He removed his costume still in disbelief that he was so easily unmasked by the Beetle.

"I feel like the biggest loser in the world right now," Peter thought as he laid down to go to sleep. "The Beetle?"


	2. Showtime

The New Sinister Six

Chapter Two

"They are coming along quite nicely," Kingpin said to Smythe.

"Yes," Smythe said, "indeed they are."

The new Sinister Six had been practicing with their new powers for last two weeks in Kingpin's compound. It was the equivalent of the X-Men's Danger Room.

"I must ask," Smythe said to Kingpin, "why did we even steal the costumes in the first place? I could have designed far superior suits for these men to wear."

"You see, my dear Smythe, it was to capture the attention of Spiderman," Kingpin told him, "with the exception of Blizzard, all of these are the costumes of some of Spiderman's most notorious foes. I thought it fitting that they should be used to engineer his final defeat."

"I see," Smythe said with a smile.

"And how are you progressing on a means to rid the wall-crawler of his powers?", Kingpin asked.

"It's slow going at this point, but, I believe I have found a way to temporarily relieve him of them," Smythe told Kingpin. "I'm not sue how long the effects will last, but, it will work for a time."

"I did not ask for a temporary effect, Smythe," Kingpin said coldly.

"I realize that, but, what you ask requires changing his very genetic structure," Smythe said. "We'll need the neogeneic recombinator."

"Then that will be the next mission for my Sinister Six," Kingpin proclaimed.

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"I wonder why they haven't surfaced in the last couple of weeks," Spiderman thought to himself as swung toward the campus of ESU. "Oh well, I'm going to be late for Dr. Connors' class if I don't hurry."

Spiderman landed in a secluded area of campus and changed into his street clothes. Peter entered the science building and made his way to class. Suddenly, his spider-sense alerted him.

"Here," Peter thought.

There was a loud explosion down the hall. Peter could hear students screaming and the sounds of people running. Peter ran into a mens room and changed into his costume.

"Get out of here! They're trashing the lab," a young man yelled as Spiderman wall-crawled in the direction of Connors' lab. When he entered the lab, he saw the six men he had confronted before.

"I see you boys have a good tailor," Spiderman quipped. He fired a webline that ensnared the Eel and used it to launch Eel into Vulture. Both men fell down in a daze. Shocker used the distraction to hit Spiderman with a vibro-blast. Beetle flew over to the neogenic recombinator and tore it off its base.

"Careful with that, Beetle," Blizzard warned.

"Be quiet! I'm the only one with the strength to carry this back to base," Beetle said.

Scorpion fired a laser blast at Spiderman, hitting him. Next, Scorpion used the point on his tail to free Eel. Blizzard encased Spiderman in an icy cocoon. Eel fired an electric blast at the cocoon causing it to shatter and at the same time electrocute Spiderman.

"AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH," Spiderman screamed as his body was in agony.

Vulture swooped down and pushed Spiderman down. Then, he took out a small gas grenade and pulled the pin. "Let's see if this thing works," Vulture said. He threw the grenade down beside Spiderman and it released the gas within.

Spiderman coughed as he inhaled the grey gas. The gas quickly dissipated and when he rose to his feet, the six men were nowhere to be seen in the lab.

"What was the gas for," Spiderman thought to himself. He saw Vulture hovering outside of the hole they had blown in the wall. "Why doesn't he attack?"

Vulture hovered silently watching Spiderman.

Spiderman ran over to the hole. "You probably should have ran with your buddies, Vulture," Spiderman said. As he stepped to the edge of the hole, his balance was way off and he almost fell out onto the ground. "Whoa...what was that?" He tried to steady himself by sticking his hand to the wall, but his hand did not stick.

Vulture saw the disoriented Spiderman and he knew that Smythe's gas had indeed worked as planned.

"Something's wrong with me," Spiderman thought.

"Freeze, Spiderman," a campus police officer ordered. There were three officers with their guns drawn and aimed at Spiderman.

"Sorry guys, but, I better get out of here," Spiderman said. He tried to leap up to the ceiling, but his jump was that of an ordinary man. "Uhhh, okay, I don't suppose I can just walk out of here can I," Spiderman asked.

"Not a chance," the officer said.

"That gas took my powers away," Spiderman realized.

"Cuff him," the officer told the other two. "I've got him covered."

Spiderman had no choice but to comply as he was handcuffed.

"All right," the officer pointing the gun said, "let's get that mask off of him."

"Wait! You can't," Spiderman protested. He tried to break the handcuffs, but his spider-strength had left him.

Several students had gathered in the doorway. "They're gonna unmask Spiderman," one shouted.

"Someone get a picture," another shouted.

"Great," Spiderman thought, "half of my science class is here to see me get unmasked."

"How do I get it off, Spiderman," one of the officers asked the hero.

"Just leave it where it is," Spiderman told him, "I'd kind of like to keep it on."

" I think it just pulls off," the other officer said. He felt around Spiderman's neck and found the bottom of the mask. "Yeah, I think I can just pull it up. It's not attached to his shirt." The officer took a grip on the mask at the top of Spiderman's head.

"Can we at least do this in private," Spiderman asked.

"Be quiet, Spiderman," the officer gripping the mask said, "for all we know, one of these kids will recognize you!"

"You don't say...," Spiderman said quietly.

"Here we go," the officer said. He slowly pulled up on the mask. "It's pretty tight," he said. Finally the mask stretched out far enough that it began to lift up.

"I bet he goes here," a student said as the mask rose slowly.

"Stop this at once," Dr. Connors said as he burst into the room.

"Listen to the man," Spiderman said. He felt the air on his nose. In another inch, his face would be revealed for all to see.

"Leave him alone," Connors commanded, "Spiderman is no more a criminal than you or I and he doesn't deserve this!"

"Dr. Connors, we were just trying to obey the law," the officer with his gun drawn said.

"Put your gun away and fix his mask," Connors told the officers, "this is my lab and I know Spiderman was attempting to stop those other men from stealing anything."

"All right, fix the mask and set him free," the lead officer ordered.

A few minutes later the room was cleared and Connors shut the door and locked it.

"Thanks, doc, that was too close," Spiderman said.

"What happened in here," Connors asked Spiderman.

"They stole the neogenic recombinator," Spiderman told Connors.

" Oh no! They could do anything with it," Connors said, " why would they steal such a valuable piece of technology?"

"None of them have any real powers, maybe they want to try to give themselves powers," Spiderman said.

"Why didn't you go after them? That was risky to let yourself be captured like that," Connors said to Spiderman.

"Well, that's the thing," Spiderman told him, "they used some kind of gas that took my powers away."

"You mean you've lost your powers," Connors asked.

"I'm afraid so," Spiderman said. "It looks like I'm just a regular guy once again."

"Let's see," Connors said.

Two hours later, after extensive tests, Connors and Spiderman found the answer.

"Incredible! The radioactive properties in your blood are still there, only they've been somehow blocked from affecting you," Connors told Spiderman.

"So I still have my powers," Spiderman asked.

"It seems so," Connors said. "The effects of the gas will wear off eventually and you'll be your old self."

"That's a relief," Spiderman said.

"I just can't say how long it will take," Connors said.

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"Well, Smythe, we know your little concoction can render the wall-crawler powerless," Kingpin said to Smythe.

"Yes, and it almost resulted in his unmasking," Smythe said.

"Once again, he escapes," Kingpin said. "That man has the most astounding luck."

"So it would seem," Smythe said. "The bright side is that we now possess the neogenic recombinator. Not to mention, the Sinister Six functioned as a powerful team."

"Indeed," Kingpin said, "they have proven themselves. Now you must do the same. Find a way to remove Spiderman's powers permanently."


	3. Act I

The New Sinister Six

Chapter 3

Beetle flew to the rendezvous point to meet Eel and Blizzard. The three of them were to attempt to draw Spiderman into the open to see if he had regained his powers. They would not capture him just yet, only antagonize him. Beetle landed in the middle of Central Park.

"Where are they," he wondered.

Eel and Blizzard emerged from a public restroom.

"You two just changed into your costumes in there, didn't you," Beetle asked.

"Well, yeah," Blizzard said, "we can't fly like you."

"If anyone saw you go in, they may be able to ID you," Beetle warned them, "don't forget we each have our own secret identities to protect now."

"See that's the problem with amateurs, they forget the important stuff," Spiderman said, perched on the top of the restroom the other two had just come out of.

"Get him," Eel shouted. He fired an electric blast at Spiderman but missed. Spiderman leapt through the air and webbed Beetle's wings so he could not fly. Blizzard fired ice-shards at Spiderman to no avail.

"You know, Beetle," Spiderman said as he dodged the attacks of Eel and Blizzard, "I followed you here, so maybe you should ease up on the other two for now."

"Very funny, Spiderman," Beetle said in disgust. "Destroy him!"

Spiderman landed in front of Beetle and stood there. Eel fired a massive electric blast at him. Spiderman jumped out of the way and the blast hit Beetle. From the other side, Blizzard fired an ice blast at Spiderman., but he hit Beetle instead.

"You guys are gonna love this," Spiderman said, "watch his suit."

"What's happening," Beetle asked out loud as his armor began to crack all over.

"Simple science, Beetle," Spiderman said, "they overloaded your suit and then they caused it to become brittle with their weapons."

Beetle's armor fell off of his body leaving him clad only in the blue briefs he wore beneath it. "Nooooo," he cried.

"Oh come on, you look nice in blue," Spiderman taunted him. He webbed the man up to prevent him from escaping.

"We've got help Beetle! Get Spiderman," Eel told Blizzard. Blizzard fired an ice blast at Spiderman and managed to freeze him in place. Spiderman burst through the ice and used the chunks to throw at Blizzard and Eel. Blizzard fired an ice blast to deflect the chunks of ice, but he only succeeded in making them larger. He was crushed by the sheer weight. Eel evaded the ice chunks and realized the situation was hopeless.

"I'll be back Spiderman," he said and ran as fast as he could.

"Don't leave yet, Eel," Spiderman said as he webbed Eel in a cocoon, "I haven't had a chance to ruin your new costume yet!"

Spiderman walked over to Blizzard and pulled the ice chunks off of him. "I feel bad for the three of you," he said as he began to remove Blizzard's costume, "I mean none of you have any powers, and you get these fancy suits and think you're super-villains," he said as he pulled the last piece of Blizzard's costume off, "but you're really just a bunch of losers in super-suits."

Blizzard laid on the ground in his boxers still unconscious.

Spiderman walked over to Eel and tore the webbing off of him. Next, he ripped Eel's gloves off.

"No! Not again," Eel shouted.

"Without these suits," Spiderman said as he ripped Eel's costume off, leaving Eel in his grey boxerbriefs, "you're just a bunch of losers." Spiderman webbed Eel.

Beetle used the time to loosen his right hand from the webbing. He was able to reach a piece of his shattered armor. It was the abdomen where he had stored one of Smythe's gas grenades. He pulled the pin and rolled it over to Spiderman.

"Spider-sense going off," Spiderman thought. His first instinct was to look up to see if Vulture or any of the others were coming. There was no one. The gas engulfed him. He leapt out of the cloud and landed on his feet. He coughed when he landed and the smoke came out of his lungs. He felt his powers leave him. He also heard police sirens approaching.

"I can't risk staying here and making sure they don't escape," Spiderman thought, "the police will unmask me for sure." He webbed each of the men up and ran toward the restroom to get his camera. Once he had his camera, he had no choice but to run. "This is humiliating."

A police officer saw Spiderman running and ordered him to stop.

"Great! Here we go again," Spiderman thought. He had left his clothes webbed up a block away in an alley. He had to make it there before he was captured. He didn't look back to see how close the officer was. He didn't want to know. All he could think about was what to do when he reached the alley. Finally he made it. He heard the officer running in his direction.

"Only one thing to do," he thought. He removed his costume as fast as he could, tossing his web-shooters under his costume.

The officer ran into the alley and saw a man wearing nothing more than a pair of white briefs.

"Uhhh...some guy in a Spiderman suit stole my clothes," Peter told the officer. "He left his suit and went that way," Peter said, pointing back out of the alley.

"I'll send some help," the officer told Peter. The he ran out of the alley to continue the chase.

"Ok, that was humiliating," Peter thought as he dressed in his street clothes. "He could have at least asked what I was wearing so he might have a chance to locate the guy." He stuffed his costume in his back pack and headed to ward the Baxter Building. Reed Richards may be able to find a way to neutralize the gas they were using to remove his powers.

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"Arrested," Kingpin yelled as he talked on the phone. "All three of them?"

"What happened, boss?" Shocker asked.

Kingpin slammed the phone down causing it to burst into pieces. "Your teammates Blizzard, Eel, and Beetle have been arrested after a fight with Spiderman."

"It appears he has regained his powers," Smythe said.

"Yes, Smythe, it would seem so," Kingpin said.

"What's gonna happen to them," Shocker asked.

Kingpin looked at him for a few seconds. "No doubt they will be charged with the theft of the neogenic recombinator as well as the theft of the costumes they wore. I should think they will be going to prison on federal charges for a long time."

"We better bust them out of there," Shocker said.

"I agree," Scorpion said, "we can't let those guys rot in prison."

"How touching, gentlemen," Kingpin said sarcastically, "but I make the decisions and I am in no mood to engage in a jail-break. Such crimes are beneath me. They should have prevailed. That is the price for failing me."

"That's rather cold of you, isn't it," Smythe asked.

"If they would have returned so badly defeated, I would have had them killed," Kingpin said with no trace of remorse. "One might say they are better off in prison."

"When you put it that way, I suppose prison is a healthy alternative," Smythe said.

"Not really, I have men in every prison they may be sent to," Kingpin told Smythe and the others, "you see, I will not allow them to betray me. They will be dead soon enough."

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Peter took a bus over to the Baxter Building and ducked in an alley to put his costume on. "Man, it takes forever to get here if you can't web-swing," he thought. Once in his costume he put on his back pack and walked in the front door of the Baxter Building.

"May I help you," the receptionist asked Spiderman.

"I need to see Reed," Spiderman told her.

"And you are...," She said.

"I'm Spiderman," answered, "you know the Amazing Spiderman."

"Yeah, right," she said, "walk on the wall or something."

Spiderman fired a webline at the stapler on her desk and pulled it to him. "Ta-Da," he said. "Please get Reed for me."

"Fine, have a seat over there," she said, pointing to a group of chairs.

"Ok, this is really humiliating," Spiderman thought.


	4. Act II

The New Sinister Six

Chapter 4

"So, Spiderman, eh," Reed Richards said to Spiderman.

Spiderman had been waiting in the lobby of the Baxter Building for about an hour before Reed came down to meet him.

"Yeah, it's me, Reed," Spiderman said.

"Look, son, I don't really have the time for this," Reed said, "please see yourself out or I can have you escorted out."

"Reed! Come on, don't you recognize my voice," Spiderman asked. "I can tell you all about the time you got the Venom suit off of me or the wonderful time we had in the Secret Wars."

"Hmmm, I guess it is you," Reed said, "but this is a little unorthodox for you to be waiting in the lobby."

"I can explain, but not here," Spiderman said.

Reed and Spiderman went upstairs to Reed's main lab. Spiderman explained to Reed that Beetle and the others had a gas weapon that temporarily removed his powers and that he needed to find a way to reverse the effects or, even better, prevent the gas from having any effect at all.

"I think there's some residue on my costume," Spiderman said.

"That makes sense," Reed said, "go ahead and remove it."

"I'll need a mask," Spiderman said, "I have to protect my identity."

"Understood, my friend," Reed agreed. "I'll see if we have anything."

"Johnny, bring me a bandana for Spiderman to wear," Reed said into his com-link.

Johnny walked in and tossed the bandana to Spiderman.

"You know, after all this time, you can trust us," Johnny said to his old friend Spiderman.

"I know, it's just kind of important to me," Spiderman said as he removed his costume, leaving his mask on.

"Nice Spidey-whiteys," Johnny laughed as Spiderman undressed. "Now I see why you wear the mask!"

"Very funny, Torch," Spiderman shot back. He put on his street clothes and turned around to remove his mask. Once he had the bandana tied on to conceal his face, Spiderman gave Reed his mask.

"This may take a while, Spiderman," Reed said.

"All right, let's get to work," Spiderman told him.

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"I find this turn of events unacceptable," Kingpin told Smythe. "We must find three more men to fill the void left by Beetle, Eel, and Blizzard."

"I can make new suits if you wish, though, I should say that we may do well to enlist other operatives," Smythe said.

"Agreed, Smythe," Kingpin said, "I will contact the Rhino and Otto Octavius. I will persuade them to join me."

"And what of the third person," Smythe asked.

"I will find the Hobgoblin," Kingpin said, "he owes me a favor or two."

Kingpin left Smythe and went to his office to summon the three new members of his Sinister Six. Smythe picked a hair sample out of the mask Beetle had taken off of Spiderman and continued his work to permanently remove Spiderman's powers.

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After a couple of hours, Spiderman felt his powers return to him. He and Reed were able to find a counter-agent to the gas. They coated his costume with the agent. Temporarily losing his powers was no longer a worry for Spiderman, which was comforting, to say the least. Spiderman changed back into his costume and left for home. He had a busy day already and it was time to rest for a while.

Spiderman entered his apartment through the sky-light and took his costume off. He hung it in his closet and took a shower. Once he was out of the shower, he turned on the TV.

"Oh great, here we go again," Peter said as he saw JJJ's face on the screen.

"This picture was taken by an ESU student as Spiderman was nearly unmasked by campus security," Jonah said. The image was flashed on the screen. It showed Spiderman's mask pulled up with half of the face it hid revealed. "If anyone recognizes this man, please contact me here at J3 Communications. I am offering a one million dollar reward to anyone who can provide definitive proof of Spiderman's true identity."

"This again," Peter asked.

"For too long, Spiderman has been a menace to our city and it is high time he was captured and unmasked for good," Jonah proclaimed. "Any coward that has to wear a mask is hiding something. I propose, once again, that Spiderman himself was behind the recent theft at The Vault and that he is planning to plunge New York into a new crime wave!"

"Doesn't this ever get old," Peter thought.

"I encourage all who are watching to rip his mask off if he is within reaching distance of you," Jonah said. "As you can see, it is easy to take off."

"That's going a little far," Peter thought.

"Take a picture of his face and I will pay you one million dollars," Jonah said.

Peter stood up and walked over to his closet. He pulled his costume out and put it on. He leapt out of the sky-light to go on patrol.

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"Deploy the spider-seekers," Kingpin ordered Smythe. "We will find the vermin and put an end to his interference once and for all."

"As you wish," Smythe said. He hit a button on his hover-chair. The spider-seekers flew into the night to find their target.

"Now, gentlemen," Kingpin said to Shocker, Scorpion, Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Rhino, and Hobgoblin, "your objective is quite simple."

"I don't like this, Fisk," Hobgoblin said, "I work alone."

"Not anymore, Hobgoblin," Kingpin said, "don't forget that I can reveal your secret identity if I choose to do so."

"Yes, I remember that well, Fisk," Hobgoblin said.

"I want you to bring Spiderman to me. Do not unmask him. That will be my honor and mine alone," Kingpin told them.

"I have a score to settle with Spiderman," Rhino said.

"As do I," Doc Ock told Rhino.

"We all do, gentlemen," Kingpin said. "Working together will assure that we are all rid of his nuisance."

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Spiderman swung through the city. He had already been on his usual patrol route, but nothing was happening. He headed toward downtown to see of he could find something there. Suddenly, his spider-sense alerted him. He landed on the side of a building, but saw no threat.

"What was that," he thought. Then he saw a spider-seeker. He caught it in his webbing and slammed it into the side of the building he was perched on. It exploded, but he knew what it meant to see a spider-seeker. "Smythe."

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"Go," Kingpin ordered his Sinister Six.

Vulture and Hobgoblin flew on their own. Doc Ock, Shocker, Rhino, and Scorpion got into a helicopter following the other two.

"At last, with the combined might of my Sinister Six, the day will be mine," Kingpin told Smythe.

Within moments, Vulture and Hobgoblin arrived at the coordinates the spider-seeker had transmitted.

"He's gone," Vulture said to Hobgoblin.

"No he's not," Hobgoblin told Vulture. "You are definitely not the man who has worn that suit for years. Spiderman is here."

"Come on, Vulture," Spiderman said as he leapt onto Vulture's back, "have a little faith in me."

Vulture flew through the air as Spiderman held on tight. Hobgoblin threw a pumpkin-bomb at them. It missed, but the explosion was felt by Spiderman.

"Be careful, Hobgoblin," Vulture shouted.

"Shut up, you fool," Hobgoblin said, "Toomes designed that suit to take a lot more than that!"

"He's right, you know," Spiderman told Vulture.

"Shut up," Vulture said to Spiderman. He was still trying to get Spderman off of him. His erratic flight was not doing much good.

"Ready for the big unveiling," Spiderman asked Vulture.

"What are you talking about," Vulture asked.

Spiderman reached down and pulled the green mask off of Vulture.

"No! My mask," Vulture cried.

Spiderman used the Vulture's confusion to steer him into the side of the building. When they crashed into it, Spiderman leapt off and webbed Vulture up. Spiderman tossed Vulture up to the roof and jumped up to the roof himself. Spiderman ripped off the webbing and tore Vulture's costume off, leaving the Vulture in his red briefs.

"I'm pretty sure you can't fly in those," Spiderman said to the unconscious Vulture.

Spiderman felt his spider-sense tingling. He turned around to see the Hobgoblin throwing an array of pumpkin bombs at him. He was able to dodge them, but the Vulture was not. The Vulture, whoever he was, suffered the brunt of the blasts.

"Hobgoblin! You're going to kill him," Spiderman said.

"Who cares? He's an amateur," Hobgoblin laughed, "but you and I are seasoned pro's!"

The helicopter carrying the others approached and dropped them off on the rooftop.

"Who's that," Rhino asked when he saw Vulture laying bloody and out cold.

"That's John," Shocker said, "Spiderman tried to kill him!"

"Ah, the troops have arrived," Hobgoblin said.

Spiderman's spider-sense was almost overwhelming him. Danger was all around him. He saw a cloud of gas envelope him.

"Let's hope Reed and I were right about this," Spiderman thought. He jumped out of the cloud in case they were wrong. "Better safe than sorry," he thought.

Before he could land, Spiderman was hit by vibro-blasts from Shocker, an energy blast from Hobgoblin, and a laser blast from Scorpion. As he landed in a violent thud, he knew his powers were intact. There was no other explanation for him surviving such an onslaught.

"Get up, Spiderman," Rhino said as he tossed the web-swinger across the rooftop. "I wanna fight you."

Spiderman was barely coherent as he landed on his back. He fired a webline at Scorpion and tried to pull the costumed man down, but Scorpion did not budge.

"Ha ha! I got strength boosters in my suit now," Scorpion gloated.

"Great," Spiderman thought. His spider-sense was still going crazy. Shocker hit him with another vibro-blast. Scorpion smashed him with his tail.

"Not bad, amateurs," Hobgoblin laughed. "But I think we should continue." He tossed a pumpkin bomb at Spiderman.

"No," Doc Ock said and deflected the bomb away.

"Octopus, that was a mistake," Hobgoblin said in anger. He flew over to Doc Ock and prepared to attack.

"Really, Hobgoblin, Spiderman is beaten," Ock said. "If you are so foolish as to attack me, I warn you that you will perish."

Hobgoblin and the others looked at Spiderman. He was motionless. They had succeeded.

"Let us return to the Kingpin with his prize and be done with this," Ock told them.

"We did it! We really beat him," Rhino said.

"Yes, we did, Rhino," Hobgoblin said, "let's go back and finish him for good."

"What about John," Shocker asked, referring to the man who lay bloody and unconscious.

"Put him in the 'copter and let's go," Scorpion told him.

The Sinister Six flew back to Crime Central with their trophy. Spiderman was shackled in adamantium and left for the Kingpin.


	5. Act III

The New Sinister Six

Chapter 5

Spiderman woke up in a haze. He realized he was shackled on his back to a steel table. His hands and feet were bound and he could not break the cuffs around them. He recognized the place he was held in. It was Crime Central, headquarters of the Kingpin. He knew two things: he still had his powers and he was still wearing his mask. What he did not know was why he was still alive. After all, he had been a major thorn in the Kingpin's side for quite some time now. The only explanation was that the Kingpin wanted him to be awake and alive for some reason.

"At least it smells clean in here," Spiderman thought and chuckled to himself. "I wonder what he pays the cleaning crew."

"He's awake," Smythe said to Kingpin. They were in the Kingpin's main office. They were watching the captive Spiderman on a video monitor.

"At last, the wall-crawler will meet his end," Kingpin told Smythe, "I have waited for this day for far too long."

"And now that day has arrived," Smythe said, "I suppose you will cherish every moment of this."

"My dear Smythe, I would not presume to gloat until Spiderman is rendered powerless and I have unmasked him myself," Kingpin said. "Now let us attend to the matter at hand."

Kingpin and Smythe entered the room where Spiderman was held.

"Isn't kidnaping a little small-time for you, Fisk," Spiderman asked as Kingpin and Smythe entered the room.

"Ah, yes, you know my true identity, yet, I do not know yours," Kingpin said to Spiderman. "Alas, that ironic detail will soon be remedied, Spiderman."

"Where are your goons? I figured you would have guards posted everywhere," Spiderman said.

"You think too highly of yourself, Spiderman," Smythe told him, "within moments your powers will be gone and you will be no more a threat than anyone else."

Smythe hit a button on his hover-chair and the neogenic recombinator descended from the ceiling.

"You see, Spiderman, I have been able to learn quite a lot about you with nothing more than a hair sample from the mask the Beetle took from you," Smythe said.

"I'll bet you learned I don't have dandruff," Spiderman said.

"You'll forgive me for not checking," Smythe snapped back, "instead I was able to surmise that you were not born with your powers."

"Yeah, well I got lucky and won them at a carnival," Spiderman told Smythe.

"Joke all you want, Spiderman, I have found the genetic key to remove your powers once and for all," Smythe said.

"Once you have been relieved of your powers, I shall destroy the neogenic recombinator, Spiderman," Kingpin said. "There will be no way for you to regain them. And once I have taken your powers away, I am going to finally unmask you."

Spiderman was silent. He knew all too well that the neogenic recombinator could remove his powers. Without his powers there was no way to prevent his unmasking. He saw the neogenic recombinator lower itself in place in front of him.

"Say the word," Smythe said to Kingpin.

"At your leisure, Smythe," Kingpin told him.

Smythe pressed a button on his hover-chair and the neogenic recombinator charged up. A few seconds later, it fired its beam at Spiderman. Spiderman screamed in pain as the beam hit him. He could feel his powers leaving him. Spiderman blacked out from the pain.

Spiderman awoke several minutes later, still in shackles. Smythe had removed his gloves and the webshooters beneath them. He still wore his mask, he could feel the spandex material on his face.

"It is done," Smythe said to Kingpin.

Kingpin walked over to Spiderman.

"And now, let us end the great mystery," Kingpin said. He grasped Spiderman's mask at the top of Spiderman's head. Spiderman struggled in vain to escape. Without his powers he was helpless. "At last I will look upon the face of one of my greatest enemies."

Kingpin pulled on the stretchy mask. At first, it did not seem to come off, but, once it stretched enough, it began to lift off. Spiderman felt the cool air hit has skin inch by inch. Spiderman was unable to stop Kingpin as his mask was finally pulled completely off.

"Nooooooo," Peter cried as he was unmasked.

Smythe hovered over to see the face beneath the mask.

"Peter Parker is Spiderman," Kingpin asked.

Peter was unsure about what to do. Aunt May...was she in danger? Would he be killed now? What would happen when his secret identity was revealed to the world? How could it end like this?

more to come...


	6. Finale

The New Sinister 6

chapter 6

Peter was horrified by his circumstances. The fact that he had lost his powers was not really the issue for him. With his secret identity revealed to one his greatest foes, he was worried for the safety of his Aunt May above all else. The Kingpin was just the type of person to track her down and make her suffer for his own delight. That's why Peter had always worn the mask to begin with. Now that the Kingpin stood before him holding his mask, it seemed as if his greatest fears were about to be realized.

"And now, what to do with you, Mr. Parker," Kingpin said to Peter.

The adamantium shackles were a little redundant at this point, but Kingpin wanted to be sure that Peter posed no threat.

"I don't know, Fisk, you could go on a diet or at least cut down on the late night snacks," Peter said to the Kingpin.

"Alas, even in the face of your utter defeat you remain incorrigible," Kingpin said in disgust.

"Hey, I have a reputation to keep you know," Peter told him.

"I say we kill him now and end his insufferable humor here and now," Smythe said.

"No, Smythe," Kingpin said with a smile, "I think we should let Parker suffer a bit."

"Let me guess," Peter said, "Chinese water torture or boil me in oil."

"Now, Mr. Parker, surely you do not think me so...primitive," Kingpin said, "instead I shall find those you love and have them killed before your very eyes."

Peter knew what that meant and the look on his face told Kingpin all he needed to know.

"When you are wearing this mask, you cannot hide your fears, Parker," Kingpin said coldly. "I shall enjoy watching you beg for the lives of your loved ones. Only then will I crush your skull with my bare hands."

"Um, that's kinda primitive with the whole crushing my head thing, Fisk," Peter joked, though he was covering his fear poorly.

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"This has got to be it," Reed Richards said as the Fantasticar hovered outside of a skyscraper in downtown NYC.

"That's good enough for me," the Thing shouted as he jumped and crashed through a window. Alarms sounded and several masked men in body armor ran to meet him. "Yeah, this is it alright."

The rest of the Fantastic Four stormed into the hole left by the Thing to engage the security forces of the Kingpin.

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The alarms sounded in the room where Kingpin, Smythe, and Peter were.

"This is your doing," Kingpin said to Peter.

"Who? Me," Peter said.

"Smythe, find out what's going on," Kingpin commanded.

"I am already on it," Smythe told Kingpin, "it would seem that the Fantastic Four has decided to rescue Spiderman."

"How incredibly annoying," Kingpin said under his breath. "Prepare the neogenic recombinator for them as well."

"But I don't know how it will affect them," Smythe argued, "it may have no affect at all."

"You will do as I say or I will use it on you next, Smythe," Kingpin told him.

Peter sat in the room with Smythe as Kingpin left in a hurry, dropping the Spiderman mask on the floor in front of Peter.

As Kingpin left the room he spoke into his wrist communicator, "Deploy my Sinister Six!"

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The Fantastic Four had already made short work of the Kingpin's security forces and were in the main chamber when they were confronted by the Sinister Six and the Kingpin himself.

"Kingpin, I take it," Reed said. "I thought you would have tried to escape by now."

"Really, Mr. Fantastic, do you think you pose a threat to the Kingpin," Kingpin said in an arrogant manner. "Destroy them," he commanded the Sinister Six.

Doc Ock lunged toward Reed only to be met by a flame from the Human Torch which melted two of his metal legs to slag.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH," Doc Ock cried as he felt the pain due to his mental connection with his extra arms. The sheer pain caused him to fall unconscious.

Next, Shocker fired a vibro-blast at the Thing, but to no avail. The Thing kept coming.

"That was only half-power, freak," Shocker said as he adjusted the dial on his belt to full power. He fired another round of blasts at the Thing.

"You've gotta be kiddin'," Thing said to the Shocker.

"Don't worry, I've got him," Scorpion said. He fired a laser blast at the Thing but missed. He lashed out with his tail.

"What a bunch of wimps," Thing laughed as he ripped Scorpion's tail off sending the Scorpion flying across the main chamber into a wall.

Elsewhere, Reed enveloped the Hobgoblin with his body. Before the Hobgoblin could react, Reed was able to dislodge his bag of tricks and free the man from the glider. Reed sent Hobgoblin to the ground where he landed in a violent thud; his glider exploded as it made contact with the ceiling.

Sue Storm turned invisible and used her force-field powers to neutralize the Rhino. She created a small force-field around his head, depriving him of oxygen until he passed out.

Johnny used his flame powers to reduce Doc Ock's remaining two metal arms to melted pools of slag.

The Thing crushed Shocker's gauntlets and lightly punched the costumed man. Though it was a slight exertion of the Thing's super-strength it was more than enough to knock Shocker out cold.

The Vulture emerged with a new costume only to see his comrades down for the count. Seeing no possibility of winning, he headed for the hole created by the Thing minutes before. Reed caught him by extending his arms and tossed Vulture into the waiting arms of the Thing.

"Nooooooooo," Vulture cried as his costume was again ripped off of him. The Thing tossed the man clad in his mask and briefs into Kingpin's desk. Needless to say, the Vulture did not get up.

As the Fantastic Four surveyed the Sinister Six, Kingpin made his way back into the room with Smythe and Peter.

"They have failed me," Kingpin told Smythe. "Let us end Spiderman's life now!"

"With pleasure," Smythe told Kingpin.

Smythe hit a button on his hover-chair and a small laser gun emerged from the right arm rest.

"At last, you will die by my hand, Spiderman," Smythe said, the bloodlust in his eyes like that of a sadistic killer.

The door to the room burst open and the Fantastic Four swarmed in to face the Kingpin and Smythe.

"No! I will not be defeated now," Kingpin shouted.

"Johnny," Reed said and pointed to Smythe. Johnny fired a blast of flames at Smythe as he pulled the trigger on his weapon. The blast missed Peter and hit the control console for the adamantium shackles holding him. Once he was freed, Peter reached down and pulled his mask on.

"You know, Smythe, I don't need my powers to do this," Spiderman said to the confused Smythe. Spiderman punched Smythe as hard as he could. Smythe's hover-chair lilted through the air and dumped its occupant on the floor. Smythe was dazed. Spiderman's right hand was in agony.

"Your luck is simply amazing, Parker," Kingpin said to Spiderman. He grabbed the neogenic recombinator and aimed it at Sue Storm. "I wonder if hers is half as good."

The Kingpin reached for the manual trigger to activate the neogenic recombinator.

"No! You fool! It's not ready for them," Smythe said as he crawled to the Kingpin's feet.

"Smythe! Get away," Kingpin commanded.

Seizing the moment of confusion, Reed extended his arms to deflect the neogenic recombinator away from Sue.

The Kingpin hit the manual trigger, activating the device.

Kingpin and Smythe cried in agony as they were bathed in the energies of the neogenic recombinator.

"My God! Reed, do something," Sue cried as the bodies of the two men began to merge into one, the floor beneath them being incorporated into their very bodies.

Reed reached up and turned the device off. A haze of smoke surrounded Kingpin and Smythe.

"What happened to them," Spiderman asked as he walked over to them.

As the smoke cleared, the monstrous form revealed itself. A writhing, contorted mas of flesh and metal was all that remained of Kingpin and Smythe.

"Oooooo-aaaauuuuggghh–mmmmm-ssss-tttt-bbbbbbb," the creature said as it writhed in agony.

Spiderman and the Fantastic Four all reacted in horror at the sight of the inhuman beast before them.

"Is it alive," Johnny wondered aloud.

"It would seem so," Reed said. "I fear nothing can undue the damage that has been done to them."

"It was set for me," Spiderman told Reed. "They used it to remove my powers. I guess it went hay-wire when it hit them."

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Back at the Baxter Building, Spiderman cried in agony as he was again bombarded with the energies of the neogenic recombinator.

A few moments later, he stood.

"I can feel my powers again," he told Reed.

"Your genetic structure must have retained the properties of your radioactive blood," Reed said. "You are sure this is what you want, my friend," Reed asked Spiderman.

On the way to the Baxter Building they had discussed whether or not to try to restore Spiderman's powers. Though he was unsure and saw a future free of the burden his powers caused him, Spiderman wanted to try.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be Spiderman, I guess," Spiderman told Reed.

"Now we have other matters to attend to," Reed said as he looked at the stasis-tank where the creature that had once been Kingpin and Smythe was contained. "We must find a way for this new life-form to exist in peace."

"No offense, but I'm gonna leave that up to you," Spiderman said. "I've got a new lease on life and someone I need to go hug." All Spiderman could think about was his Aunt May. He wanted to see her to know she was safe. Nothing else mattered.

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Elsewhere, the Scorpion and the Shocker met at the agreed upon rendezvous site.

"What now," Scorpion asked Shocker.

"We use these costumes to get our revenge," Shocker told him.

Each man was able to retrieve their spare costumes as they vacated Crime Central.

"We find a way to make Spiderman pay for this," Shocker said.

The End...for now...

More to come! I hope you have enjoyed this story. Please review and offer suggestions for future stories. Thanks.


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